So as I was saying…

… New years eve party 201x should be fun in the bar 🙂

Yet another long week off between Christmas and New Years but beings I had to entertain the kids I really didn’t a whole lot of basement time in until today. I managed to put in a solid days work, well, after I rolled out of bed at like 10:00, thanks wifey! 🙂

I filled in the gap between the cabinets where they meet in the corner with a matching piece of oak.  I finished all of the tile on the front of the bar except for the angle cuts needed on one of the bends.  I also threw down the remaining section of counter top base for the back.

Then it was off to Lowe’s for some meditation in the tile and counter top isles with a side trip to the wood section.  We’re having a hard time finding something we like that’s not $10/sqft back splash mosaics for the counter tops (I’ve calculated roughly 70sqft of counter space to cover!)  I think we’ve eliminated using any variation of slate as it’ll take away from the front of the bar.  Glass tile is out of the question price wise, as well as aesthetically it just will not go with wood/slate.

I picked up a couple 4 sqft sections of 1/4 oak ply to rip down to fill in the gaps on the front of the bar (more on this later) as well as the exposed end then headed over to tile/flooring.  This time I not only hit the tile isles though, I also looked at the wood flooring section, then into no-mans land, linoleum… for an epiphany.

Beings this is a basement level floor and the fact that we’ve had more than our fair share of washing machine issues, HVAC condensate line leaks and kids splashing in the tub upstairs, all of which makes it’s way to the basement; hardwood and carpet are out of the question.  I’m not thrilled with the prospect of having to cut a million tiles around the bar, and the durability of slate used on the bar makes me shy away from using it on the floor too.  I liked the color of one of the fake oak peel and stick type flooring though, and the price is right, .98 sqft!  It’ll look nowhere near as nice as the real thing, but for now it’ll probably do the job needed for the bar and game rooms.  One other option that hasn’t been eliminated (priced) yet is to acid stain/dye/paint the concrete itself.

Then I hit the counter top section and looked at the formica samples to see if there’s anything that would hold us over until sometime in the future when we can afford to redo the kitchen and bar in granite or other manufactured product.  A couple of samples caught my eye that would complement the slate and faux wood flooring nicely.  Even better was the price point, a 4x8ft sheet can be had for under $100!

So I get home and hand the wife the flooring piece I bought… she giggled at me… wtf?

“Quick and easy” she says.

With a puzzled look on my face I say “I’ll still have to cut all around the bar laying it…”

“Oh, that’s the floor??  I thought it was for the strips on the front of the bar!” …

Leave it up to someone not standing in the middle of the forest to see the tree and tell you how to spend $7 vs $30 and a fraction of the time by not having to rip, fit, and stain wood inserts!  I went downstairs, sure enough, perfect fit!  I still had to cut a piece to bring it up flush, but the finish product nails the look I’ve had in my head since day one.

Here’s a couple of pics of the days work!

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